"the technique of dive bombing for which the Junkers Ju 87 ""Stuka"" was specifically designed. The Junkers Ju 88 was fitted with external dive brakes and a control system, similar to those of the Ju 87 and could carry out a dive bombing role, although it was primarily used as a level bomber. The light bomb loads carried by the Ju 87 had been used to great effect during the Battle of France. However, the Ju 87 was slow and possessed an inadequate degree of defensive weaponry, with only a single, 7.92mm calibre MG 15 machine gun at the rear"
"Dunkirk because of its resemblance to the Hurricane; Luftwaffe fighters attacking from the rear were surprised by its unusual gun turret. During the Battle of Britain, it proved hopelessly outclassed. For various reasons, the Defiant lacked any form of forward-firing armament, and the heavy turret and second crewman meant it could not outrun or outmanoeuvre either the Bf 109 or Bf 110. By the end of August, after disastrous losses, the aircraft was withdrawn from daylight service. The Luftwaffe's primary bombers were the Heinkel He 111, Dornier Do 17, and Junkers Ju 88 for level bombing at medium to high"
"were constantly being reduced by attrition. The Hs 123 was not employed in the subsequent Battle of Britain as the English Channel proved an insuperable obstacle for the short-ranged aircraft. The sole operator, II.(Schl)/LG 2 went back to Germany to re-equip with the Messerschmitt Bf 109E fighter bomber (""Jabo"") variant. The Bf 109E fighter bomber was not capable of carrying any more bombs than the Hs 123. It did, however, have a greater range and was far more capable of defending itself. On the downside were the notoriously tricky taxiing, ground handling and takeoff/landing characteristics of the Bf 109, which"
"north of England and Scotland. The raids against the north were disastrous for the Luftwaffe, and the Germans never again attempted large scale raids against the north of England. They deployed Stuka dive bombers at first in raids in the south of England, but they performed poorly and many were shot down by the RAF. They had to be withdrawn from the battle. The German air crews were overall more experienced but the standard of fighter aircraft was even. The Bf 109E was slightly better in all round performance than the Hawker Hurricane, however the Bf 109 and the Supermarine"
"Sedan. The light bombers were attacked by swarms of opposing fighters and were devastated. Out of a strike force of 63 Battles and eight Bristol Blenheims, 40 (including 35 Battles) were lost. After these abortive raids, the Battle was switched to mainly night attacks, resulting in much lower losses. A similar situation befell the German ""Luftwaffe"" during the early days of the Battle of Britain, when the Junkers Ju 87 ""Stuka"" dive bomber suffered equivalent losses in a similar role. With the exception of a few successful twin-engine designs such as the de Havilland Mosquito, Bristol Beaufighter and Douglas A-20,"
"shot down more Luftwaffe aircraft of all types than the Spitfire, mainly due to the higher proportion of Hurricanes in the air. Seven out of every 10 German aircraft destroyed during the Battle of Britain were shot down by Hurricane pilots. Losses were also higher among the more numerous Hurricane units. Post-war analysis showed that the Spitfire's ""kill ratio"" was marginally better than the Hurricane's. The majority of Mk Is and Mk IIs were armed with eight .303 Browning machine guns. Throughout the battle, Luftwaffe aircraft often returned to base with .303 bullet holes, but no critical damage as they"
"had been ineffective and disorganised, and as a result, ""Stuka"" losses were mainly due to ground fire. 120 machines, one-third of the Stuka force, were destroyed or damaged by all causes from 10 May to 25 June 1940. For the Battle of Britain, the Luftwaffe's Order of battle included bomber wings equipped with the Ju 87. Lehrgeschwader 2's IV.(St), Sturzkampfgeschwader 1's III. Gruppe and Sturzkampfgeschwader 2's III. Gruppe, Sturzkampfgeschwader 51 and Sturzkampfgeschwader 3's I. Gruppe were committed to the battle. As an anti-shipping weapon, the Ju 87 proved a potent weapon in the early stages of the battle. On 4"
"the aerial battles, No. 247 Gladiators intercepted a He 111 in late October 1940, without result. No. 239 Squadron RAF using Gladiators in an army cooperation role and No. 804 Squadron, Fleet Air Arm outfitted with Sea Gladiators were also operational during the Battle of Britain. The British had a cannon-armed fighter coming into service, the twin-engined Westland Whirlwind, but problems with its engines and slow production meant it did not enter service until December 1940. The majority of the bomber aircraft involved in the Battle of Britain were German although the Italians fielded a small number. The ""Luftwaffe"" in"
"the British in the defensive were mainly using fighter aircraft, the Germans used a mixture of bombers with fighter protection. It was the largest and most sustained bombing campaign attempted up until that date. The failure of Nazi Germany to destroy Britain's air defence or to break British morale is considered its first major setback. The most famous fighter aircraft used in the Battle of Britain were the British Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire Mk I and the German Messerschmitt Bf 109 E variant (""Emil"") single-engined fighters. Although the Spitfire has attracted more attention, the Hurricanes were more numerous and"
"Bf 110, which suffered great losses during the Battle of Britain. An exception was the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, which proved to be an effective fighter. Many twin-engined heavy fighters eventually found their niche as night fighters, fighter-bombers or strike aircraft, with considerable success. Notable among such conversions was the Bf 110, which served as a night fighter for most of the war, and the Bristol Beaufighter, which emerged as a major anti-shipping strike fighter. A major heavy fighter design was the Messerschmitt Bf 110, a German fighter that, prior to the war, was considered by the German Luftwaffe more important"
"had twenty-eight ""Geschwader"" (wings). The Luftwaffe also operated ""Fallschirmjäger"" paratrooper units. The ""Luftwaffe"" proved instrumental in the German victories across Poland and Western Europe in 1939 and 1940. During the Battle of Britain, however, despite inflicting severe damage to the RAF's infrastructure and, during the subsequent Blitz, devastating many British cities, the German air force failed to batter the beleaguered British into submission. From 1942, Allied bombing campaigns gradually destroyed the ""Luftwaffe""s fighter arm. From late 1942, the ""Luftwaffe"" used its surplus ground, support and other personnel to raise ""Luftwaffe"" Field Divisions. In addition to its service in the West,"
"operations, dropped 41,823 tons (37,941 tonnes) of bombs and lost 1,332 aircraft in action. In one high-profile incident, a German Bf 110 night-fighter attacked a Wellington returning from an attack on Münster, causing a fire at the rear of the starboard engine. The second pilot, Sergeant James Allen Ward (RNZAF) climbed out of the fuselage, kicked holes in the doped fabric of the wing for foot and hand holds to reach the starboard engine and smothered the burning upper wing covering. He and the aircraft returned home safely and Ward was awarded the Victoria Cross. The Wellington was also adopted"
"into France and along the channel coast against mostly French Army units. In the immediate aftermath of the German victory in France, the Luftwaffe moved in Kampfgeschwader 77 (KG 77), a bomber wing. KG 77 was initially equipped with Dornier Do 17Z, and later with Junkers Ju 88As in mid July 1940. carrying out attacks on England during the Battle of Britain. Initially having 35 Ju 88s, This unit suffered losses of 9 Ju 88s on a single mission against Gravesend on 18 September, one of the highest losses of any units in a single mission. On 27 September I./KG"
"of eight machine guns installed to increase defensive firepower, but still were unable to counter fighter attacks. The battle continued into October as the ""Luftwaffe"" concentrated on night attacks which were carried out by units mainly equipped with the Heinkel He 111 and Junkers Ju 88, as they had bigger bomb loads, and the Ju 88 had a greater speed. The Dornier Do 17's losses in the Battle of Britain are given as between 132 and 171, the lowest losses as a ratio of the three German bomber types. With the introduction of the Junkers Ju 88 and the new"
"Kampfgeschwader 51 (KG 51), equipped with Junkers Ju 88As taking part in the battle until the armistice on 22 June. After the armistice, the fighter units moved out, while KG 51 remained with its Ju 88s at Orly until March 1941, taking part in the Battle of Britain. When the bombers moved out, for about a year it was used by the Luftwaffe as a rest and rearmament airfield, with units from combat areas being withdrawn and stationed at Orly briefly until being redeployed. However, as part of the ""Defense of the Reich"" campaign by the Luftwaffe to defend against"
"contributed to the unexpected success in the Battle of France. It destroyed three Allied Air Forces and helped secure the defeat of France in just over six weeks. However, it could not destroy the British Expeditionary Force at Dunkirk despite intense bombing. The BEF escaped to continue the war. During the Battle of Britain in summer 1940, the ""Luftwaffe"" inflicted severe damage to the Royal Air Force, but did not achieve the air superiority that Hitler demanded for the proposed invasion of Britain, which was postponed and then cancelled in December 1940. The ""Luftwaffe"" ravaged British cities during The Blitz,"
"three quarters of the fleet's strength on the Eastern Front. The He 111 ""gruppen"" lost 165 aircraft in transport operations. Other losses included 42 Junkers Ju 86s, nine Fw 200 Condors, five Heinkel He 177 bombers and a Junkers Ju 290. The Luftwaffe also lost close to 1,000 highly experienced bomber crew personnel. So heavy were the ""Luftwaffes"" losses that four of Luftflotte 4's transport units (KGrzbV 700, KGrzbV 900, I./KGrzbV 1 and II./KGzbV 1) were ""formally dissolved"". In the air, the ""Luftwaffe"" had sustained its heaviest defeat since the Battle of Britain. The remnants of the German Sixth Army"
"home-based British fighters, but the Ju 88 had significantly lower loss rates due to its greater speed and its ability to dive out of trouble (it was originally designed as a dive bomber). The German bombers required constant protection by the Luftwaffe's fighter force. German escorts were not sufficiently numerous. Bf 109Es were ordered to support more than 300–400 bombers on any given day. Later in the conflict, when night bombing became more frequent, all three were used. Due to its smaller bomb load, the lighter Do 17 was used less than the He 111 and Ju 88 for this"
"of these casualties, ""Luftflotte"" 5 did not appear in strength again in the campaign. 18 August, which had the greatest number of casualties to both sides, has been dubbed ""The Hardest Day"". Following this grinding battle, exhaustion and the weather reduced operations for most of a week, allowing the Luftwaffe to review their performance. ""The Hardest Day"" had sounded the end for the Ju 87 in the campaign. This veteran of ""Blitzkrieg"" was too vulnerable to fighters to operate over Britain. So as to preserve the ""Stuka"" force, Göring withdrew them from the fighting. This removed the main Luftwaffe precision-bombing"
"had more planes, but they used much of their fuel getting to Britain, and so had more limited time for combat. The Luftwaffe used 1300 medium bombers guarded by 900 fighters; they made 1500 sorties a day from bases in France, Belgium and Norway. The Germans realized their Ju 87 Stukas and Heinkel He 111s were too vulnerable to modern British fighters. The RAF had 650 fighters, with more coming out of the factories every day. Three main fighter types were involved in the battle—the German Messerschmitt Bf 109E, and the British Hawker Hurricane and Supermarine Spitfire. The Hurricane accounted"
"withdrawn from the Eastern Front in August 1944 and soon after began operations over Britain, flying He 111H-22 bombers outfitted to air launch V-1 flying bombs . Operations were suspended on 25 January 1945, due to fuel shortages, Allied defences and the inability to see the results. Kampfgeschwader 53 ""Kampfgeschwader"" 53 ""Legion Condor"" (KG 53; English: ""Condor Legion"") was a Luftwaffe bomber wing during World War II. Its units participated on all of the fronts in the European Theatre until it was disbanded in May 1945. It operated three of the major German bomber types: the Dornier Do 17, Heinkel"
"Battle of Britain. Initially the Luftwaffe concentrated on destroying the RAF on the ground and in the air. They later switched to bombing major and large industrial British cities in the Blitz, in an attempt to draw RAF fighters out and defeat them completely. Neither approach was successful in reducing the RAF to the point where air superiority could be obtained, and plans for an invasion were suspended by September 1940. During the Blitz, all of Britain's major industrial, cathedral, and political cites were heavily bombed. London suffered particularly, being bombed each night for several months. Other targets included Birmingham"
"a role for which it was not originally designed, and it was widely employed as a fighter-bomber, as well as a photo-reconnaissance platform. Despite mixed results over Britain, with the introduction of the improved Bf 109F in early 1941, the type again proved to be an effective fighter during the Invasion of Yugoslavia (where it was used by both sides), the Battle of Crete, Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the USSR, and the Siege of Malta. In 1942, it began to be partially replaced in Western Europe by a new German fighter, the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, but it continued to"
"Battle of France (1940) . Hitler determined air superiority was essential for the invasion of Britain. When this was not achieved in the Battle of Britain, the invasion was canceled, making this the first major battle whose outcome was determined primarily in the air. The war in Russia forced the Luftwaffe to devote the majority of its resources to providing tactical air support for the beleaguered German army. In that role, the Luftwaffe used the Junkers Ju 87, Henschel Hs 123 and modified fighters such as Messerschmitt Bf 109s and Focke-Wulf Fw 190s. The Red Air Force was also primarily"
"of the operation. Fuel was the most significant limiting factor. To help build up supplies for the support of Citadel, the Luftwaffe greatly curtailed its operations during the last week of June. Despite this conservation of resources, the Luftwaffe did not have the resources to sustain an intensive air effort for more than a few days after the operation began. For Citadel, the Luftwaffe confined its operations to the direct support of the forces on the ground. In this mission the Luftwaffe continued to make use of the Junkers Ju 87 ""Stuka"" dive-bombers. A new development to this aircraft was"
"to contemporary fighter aircraft, like many other dive bombers of the war. During the Battle of Britain its lack of manoeuvrability, speed and defensive armament meant that it required a heavy fighter escort to operate effectively. After the Battle of Britain the Stuka took part in the Balkans Campaign, the African and Mediterranean theatres and the early stages of the Eastern Front where it was used for general ground support, as an effective specialised anti-tank aircraft and in an anti-shipping role. Once the Luftwaffe lost air superiority, the Stuka became an easy target for enemy fighter aircraft on all fronts."
"an airplane crash on 3 June 1936, the heavy bomber program lost its momentum, and never recovered. When the ""Luftwaffe"" was given its heavy blow over the skies of England, the error of not having heavy bombers became apparent. By then, however, it was too late to develop the bombers required. Albert Kesselring, Wever's successor, believed that what Germany required were more fighters and tactical bombers. Therefore, the V2 and V3 prototypes were scrapped. The original V1 became a transport in 1938. The Dornier Do 19 had a disappointing performance: it was slow, carried only a 1,600 kg bombload, and"
"theaters except Alaska. Luftwaffe ace Heinz Bär said that the P-47 ""could absorb an astounding amount of lead [from shooting at it] and had to be handled very carefully"". Although the North American P-51 Mustang replaced the P-47 in the long-range escort role in Europe, the Thunderbolt still ended the war with 3,752 air-to-air kills claimed in over 746,000 sorties of all types, at the cost of 3,499 P-47s to all causes in combat. By the end of the war, the 56th FG was the only 8th Air Force unit still flying the P-47, by preference, instead of the P-51."
"with the ""Schnellbomber"", and dramatically outgunning it by eight to one (only one gun would normally be able to fire back). The Do 17 suffered at the hands of the RAF during the Battle of Britain, and its production run ended in 1940. The Germans nevertheless persisted in their attempts to create newer ""Schnellbombers"", as opposed to large bombers with heavy defensive armaments which were favored by the RAF and USAAF. Other aircraft recognized as ""Schnellbombers"" by the Luftwaffe were: the Junkers Ju 88, the first to be custom-designed for the role, three years before the start of the war,"
"Battle of Britain were woefully undersized. As German bombers had not been designed for long-range strategic missions, they lacked sufficient defenses. The Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighter escorts had not been equipped to carry enough fuel to guard the bombers on both the outbound and return journeys, and the longer-range Bf 110s could be outmanoeuvred by the short-range British fighters. (A bizarre feature of the war was how long it took to conceive of the Drop tank.) The air defense was well organized and equipped with effective radar that survived the bombing. As a result, German bombers were shot down in"
"other German units. The Germans were intercepted by British fighters and the mission was very costly for 4. ""Staffel"" as over half the bombers were shot down by the British or were written off after landing. Helbig was forced to jettison his bombs before reaching the target and return to base, flying on a single engine with wounded crewmen aboard. During the battle, Helbig reported that his badly damaged Ju 88 was intercepted by a Spitfire over the English Channel. The RAF pilot did not fire, but instead flew alongside the crippled bomber until the French coast was in sight,"
"greatly extended in providing forces for the offensive. ""Luftflotte 5"" did not take any part in the fighting, although its reconnaissance aircraft were active over England and Scotland. Altogether, the Luftwaffe lost between 69 and 71 aircraft destroyed or damaged beyond repair as a result of its operations over Britain on 18 August 1940. Of this total, 59 were lost to certain or probable action by fighters while two fell to ground fire, four to a combination of both and one collided with a British training aircraft. The remaining three crashed in German-held territory owing to technical failures. Altogether, the"
"Germany used high level bombers such as the Heinkel He 111, the Dornier Do 17 and multi-role aircraft such as the Junkers Ju 88 against the Allies in the Battle of Britain, both for carpet bombing and for precision attacks on British radar stations as part of Operation Eagle. During the Cold War, the United States and Soviet Union used several bomber designs, but the bulk of their offensive forces were in the form of, respectively, the B-52 Stratofortress and Tu-95 Bear. The French equivalent was the Mirage IV, and the UK had its V bombers. The U.S. Strategic Air"